Congressional Western Caucus Vice Chair Jeff Hurd (CO-03) introduced the Productive Public Lands Act to allow the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to reissue the Trump Administration’s Resource Management Plans (RMPs).
“The Productive Public Lands Act would reactivate the resource potential of our public lands,” said Vice Chair Hurd. “This bill would force the Bureau of Land Management to reissue nine Biden-era Resource Management Plans (RMPs) which locked up access to viable lands throughout Colorado and the West. A reissuance of these RMPs will put us on a path to energy dominance allowing for a more secure and prosperous United States.”
“The Biden Administration was hell-bent on locking up public lands, threatening the prosperity of rural economies across the country,” said Chairman LaMalfa. “Fortunately, a new era has dawned, and we have the opportunity to reverse these lockups and re-instate the multiple-use mandate on America’s public lands. The Productive Public Lands Act will open up the public’s land to be used for recreation, grazing, timber harvesting, drilling, mining and other appropriate uses. I want to thank Vice Chair Hurd for leading this important legislation.”
Co-sponsoring the Productive Public Lands Act are Western Caucus Chairman Doug LaMalfa (CA-01), Vice Chairs Cliff Bentz (OR-02), Harriet Hageman (WY-AL) and Ryan Zinke (MT-01), and Representatives Troy Downing (MT-02) and Gabe Evans (CO-08).
Background:
The BLM must adhere to the 'multiple-use mandate,' meaning that BLM lands must be managed with the intent to produce sustained and consistent access to our abundant natural resources.
The Biden Administration turned this mandate upside down when it released numerous RMPs that had the sole intent of locking up all BLM land and preventing any resource extraction or reaction access.
The Productive Public Lands Act nullifies numerous Biden-era RMP's across the west and replaces them with Trump-era alternatives from his first term. This will ensure consistent access to resources and recreation on our public lands.
